Tourist tax in comparison What you pay tourist tax for - and what you get in return

Most tourist destinations in Switzerland levy a visitor's tax. The daily fees range from 0 to 7 francs. There are also big differences in the discounts. An overview.

Gone are the days when the visitor's tax was so low that it hardly affected the vacation budget and had a rather symbolic character. Anyone staying in the Lower Engadine spa town of Scuol pays CHF 5 per day for each family member aged 12 or over. For a week, this adds up to 120 francs for a family of four with teenage children.

In return, guests travel for free on public transport and can take the mountain railroad from the village to Motta Naluns and back down again once a day. It doesn't matter whether they take advantage of these offers, they have to pay anyway.

The visitor's tax is also known as an overnight stay, guest or accommodation tax. Most destinations give guests a guest card in return, which is then valid as a ticket on the local bus, for example. The guest card also has many names and often includes the region in which it is valid.

Tourist taxes from 0 to 7 francs per night

The pricing is also varied. Prices range from 0 to 7 francs per person per night, with Montreux VD and Saas Fee VS charging the highest amount. At the other end of the scale are Andermatt UR, Engelberg OW and Arosa GR, for example, which do not charge a visitor's tax. However, they generally ask their overnight guests to pay in other ways, so no visitor's tax does not mean that there are no costs over and above the hotel, vacation apartment or campsite bill.

The comparison portal Comparis has been listing the tourist taxes of the 80 most-visited municipalities in Switzerland for several years. The latest list is from summer 2024 and shows the most important services offered by the destinations. The guest card entitles overnight guests to free use of local public transport in many places. Many ski resorts also offer discounts on their lift tickets.

These discounts can also be higher than the total amount of the visitor's tax. Samnaun GR, for example, charges 4 francs per day. In return, the 6-day ski pass is available for CHF 334.50 instead of CHF 408.50. The visitor's tax of CHF 24 for six nights therefore entitles you to a discount of CHF 74 on the ski ticket. Which does little to change the fact that winter sports vacations are expensive fun.

Note: Comparis levied the visitor's tax in summer 2024. In some municipalities, these may change on January 1, 2025. Some resorts also have different rates in winter than in summer.

Big differences in discounts

For budget-conscious travelers, it is worth finding out the amount of the visitor's tax in advance and comparing the services offered. The small print also makes a difference, such as the age at which a tax is payable, i.e. how much children cost. Different charges are also common, depending on whether a guest is staying in a hotel, a mountain hut or on a campsite. In some places, a different amount is payable in summer than in winter.

The list from Comparis shows that higher taxes to the tourist municipality do not necessarily mean a higher discount. Zurich, for example, charges CHF 3.50 without providing a directly recognizable service in return. Zermatt also offers no discounts for the overnight stay tax of CHF 4.

Arosa GR is different: the municipality does not levy a visitor's tax, but still offers overnight guests free travel on public transport. Leukerbad VS, on the other hand, charges 6 francs per overnight stay but does not offer free public transport. On the other hand, the thermal baths are cheaper with the guest card.

To summarize: The amount of the visitor's tax varies as much as the benefits that guests receive in return. The overnight stay tax is not there to offer visitors discounts on various offers in the resort.

Tourist tax is actually a tourist tax

The visitor's tax is actually a tax for tourists - or formerly spa guests, hence its original name. The municipalities use it to finance the tourist infrastructure, in which the guests do not participate as they are liable to pay tax in another municipality.

Although the local population also uses the infrastructure, it is far too extensive and expensive for them alone, which is why the additional levies from guests are needed.

However, anyone who believes that the tourist resorts finance themselves with the visitor's tax is wrong. An analysis of a handful of examples shows that these municipalities probably collect a single-digit percentage of their revenue in the form of visitor's taxes. It would therefore be an exaggeration to say that vacation guests significantly help finance the respective municipality with their overnight taxes.